"What does 'ravished' mean? It means, we going to rape
your ass. And I'm going to have fun doing that sh*t. And you going to like
that. I promise you."
This news was just posted on the Crooks and Liars site:
Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan say that there was nothing they could do after
Bible-preaching protesters threatened to rape and murder pro-LGBT activists at
a "Gay Day" event over the weekend.
In a video posted to YouTube, several protesters
with Bibles can be seen shouting at a woman celebrating in the inaugural
"Gay Day" celebration, an event organized by the human rights group
Tolerance, Equality and Awareness Movement (TEAM) to showcase the community's
diversity.
With tempers running at fever pitch after weeks of
Chick-fil-A stories, it is not surprising that threats of violence have
surfaced. What is surprising, however, is that the parties indirectly involved
have not yet managed to distance themselves from them.
In a March 28 OpEdNews article, it
was pointed out that NOM
(National Organization for Marriage) had a strategy to "drive a
wedge" between America's black community and the LGBT community. NOM never
denied the strategy, siting supporters in its movement came from "every
color, creed and background."
They have yet to say whether "every creed" includes
the Black Hebrew Israelites.
The Black Hebrews were first featured in OpEdNews in an
article on the murder of 4-year-old Jadon Higgenbotham, whose actions were
thought to be "gay" by his mother's boyfriend, Peter Lucas Moses:*
The incident
of Jadon Higgenbotham :
Black
Voices:
Moses and his wives were members of a religious sect called the Black
Hebrews, a group that frowns upon homosexuality. According to the Jewish
Virtual Library , The Black Hebrews believe that they are
descended from the 10 lost tribes of Israel. They live according to their own
special rules of conduct. Polygamy is permitted and birth control is forbidden.
Some
of them also believe that Jews, whites and homosexuals will be made salves by
Jesus upon the Second Coming.
A Very Violent
"Wedge"
Whether or not NOM has a direct tie to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement may not be the point: whether it will disavow and condemn the incident, however, is more salient than one supposes. The Christian Right's defensive mantra of "we're not like that" must be placed immediately in the forefront and immediately after any incident, or else it loses effect: silence is not a virtue. NOM's "wedge" strategy did not foresee any adverse repercussions.
Maybe it should have.
The demonizing of the LGBT community (and
gay-rights activist in particular) by organizations such as NOM, the American
Family Association and the Family Research Council have had far-reaching
effects- more than the organizations would ever admit: anti-gay efforts
spearheaded in Uganda, for example resulted in the death of gay activist David
Kato. Evangelists targeting Uganda e.g. Lou Engle and Scott Lively have, of
course, washed their hands of any such violence.
The Death Of Civil Discourse?
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